Disney’s Paradise Pier—A Review

Liliane

Disney acquired the independent Pan Pacific Hotel just south of the Disneyland Hotel in 1997 and changed its name to the Disneyland Pacific Hotel. Just before Disney California Adventure opened in 2001, the hotel was rechristened as the Paradise Pier Hotel in recognition of the Paradise Pier district of DCA that the hotel overlooks.

The 489-room property makes a mostly successful attempt to merge the hotel’s original South Seas flavor with a vintage seaside amusement theme inspired by the attractions across the street. The sunny lobby sports a stunning glass-enclosed exterior elevator (interior ones are available if it induces vertigo) and a statue of Goofy holding a surfboard. Guest rooms are furnished with blond wood furniture and the usual pastel soft goods, including bedspreads with a hidden Mickey pattern. Somewhat more whimsical than rooms at the Disneyland Hotel or the Grand Californian, Paradise Pier rooms include accents such as Mickey Mouse table lamps, beach ball pillows, and seashell-patterned carpets. Rates range $259–$1,003, depending on season and view.

For dining, the informal Disney’s PCH Grill serves a breakfast (with characters) and dinner buffet daily. Next to the restaurant you’ll find the Surfside Lounge, perfect for unwinding after an exhausting day of family fun. Amenities include a fitness center, conference rooms, a kids’ game room, and an often breezy rooftop pool complete with a waterslide (the view from the top of the slide is killer). Self-parking in Paradise Pier’s on-site garage is fast and convenient. Somewhat isolated on the Disneyland Resort property, the hotel is a 14-minute hike to the theme park entrances, farther away than most non-Disney hotels lining Harbor Boulevard on the east side of the resort, if you walk through Downtown Disney. Crossing Disneyland Drive and going through Grand Californian Hotel cuts the walk in half, or even shorter if entering DCA.

Good (and Not-So-Good) Rooms at Paradise Pier Hotel

There are two guest-room buildings at Paradise Pier Hotel. Rooms facing east have excellent views of the Paradise Pier area of Disney California Adventure. Rooms facing west look out onto parking lots and a nearby residential neighborhood. There are two room-view categories at Paradise Pier, standard and premium. All rooms facing west are tagged as standard, while all rooms facing east on the sixth floor and above are premium. Request rooms 300–318 and 326–345 if you want to be on the same floor as the pool. If you want to catch a small glimpse of DCA but don’t want to pay the extra cost for a premium room, even-numbered rooms 502–518 are standard view rooms facing the park. Even-numbered rooms 1200–1218, 1300–1318, 1400–1418, 1500, and 1510 are premium rooms that offer the best views of DCA.

The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland by Seth Kubersky, Bob Sehlinger, Len Testa, and Guy Selga Jr. covers all there is to see at Universal Hollywood, Disneyland. and Disney’s California Adventure. If you enjoyed this post, sign up for our newsletter here.